Ryan Laymon '13

Pragmatism and Passion
Ryan Laymon ’13 was exposed to Green Mountain College through the soccer program. The College soccer coach attended one of his soccer games in Ilion, N.Y, and invited him to be a part of the team. It was not until he visited GMC, however, that he made his decision to enroll.

“The campus was beautiful,” he noted.

In terms of academics, Ryan already knew he wanted to pursue business before he arrived at freshman orientation. He initially chose this major due to pragmatism. The passion came later.

“Business applied to everything,” he explained. “Once I started taking the classes I realized I really liked it.”

His college life so far has been a balanced blend of academics and sports. Besides being an active member of the soccer team, Ryan has served on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), Athletic Advisory Board (AAB) and worked in the athletic department. However, he contended that his most exciting opportunity was an intensive Eco-League course in business offered to eco-league students and students at GMC.

It was a two-week course with classes that lasted 8-9 hours a day. Through trips to Vermont businesses, Ryan gained a deeper level of understanding about sustainable business practices through the emphasis of the “triple bottom line.” He describes the “triple bottom line” as the marriage between financial, social, and environmental aspects of business strategies.

“You can be all about social and environmental factors, but if you’re not making any money you’re not going to stay in business,” Ryan added.

Although his passion for business has certainly been influenced by his innate sense of practicality, Ryan’s heart is on the soccer field. When describing his teammates he states: “We love each other.”

He credits the tight-knit quality of the GMC sports community for the strong relationships he has with other members of the soccer team.

“We’ve been through four years of experiences and memories,” he notes. “You’re not going to get anything like that any place else.”

This team experience has affected him so much that he hopes to combine business and soccer after he graduates. While he does not have specific career goals, he is planning to be involved in some kind of team activity.

“I want to do something with soccer after college, playing at a high level or coaching in some capacity,” he asserted. “But regardless of what I’m doing, I will have to be able to market myself and keep track of finances.”

His immediate goals involve hiking the Northville-Lake Placid trail “in one shot.” In response to the possibility to hiking the trail with the soccer team, Ryan laughs.

“I couldn’t even count how many inside jokes we have already,” He explains. “That would be quite the experience.”